A few weeks ago Rory’s film premiered in Cambridge at an amazing show our friend was putting on called Mary Dolan Presents… Vaudeville. The show was the first in a series of vaudeville-style performances hosted by 86-year-old Mary Dolan (which is actually our old friend Jill from high school).

Her and her partner Karin created Axe To Ice Productions “to create and support art that causes an audience to question and to think, to be struck in the moment, and to bring their experiences into action in their own communities.” And I believe they were truly successful in doing just that at this show. Not only did they bring refreshing ideas to the theatre in an old time way but the creative manner in which all the artists portrayed their ideas was very innovative and exciting. There was so much talent in one room… you could just feel the energy radiating. Did I mention that Jill & Karin were fabulous? They were both completely mesmerizing that night. I walked out of there feeling happy, inspired and very proud of Jill, Karin and all the other super talented artists who contributed to the show. I truly felt honored to have been there.

The moment that specifically stands out to me was when Jill sang a song she wrote called, “Doing It Just to Do It.” It was a great simple reminder to all of us just to do the things we love – but it was also more than that to me. It wasn’t just Mary Dolan standing up there singing that song it was Jill Gibson… someone who has always had the passion inside her – despite people’s opinions and situations – who kept at what she loved and put all her energy out there into the world and really put on this show. You can tell when someone puts their heart and soul into a production, a piece of art, a song etc because you end up leaving that auditorium feeling like you are a better person – feeling motivated and rejuvenated. It’s such positive energy when it feels so genuine and pure. She really showed the world that she could do it. It was a great reminder that the most important thing you can do is to trust yourself because if you do you will always be happy.

Also worth mentioning are the other fabulous artists that performed that night… Through out the whole course of the show live music was played by –Goli – an amazing fusion of classical chamber music style with an edge. A sassy musical act put on by The Steamy Bohemians. A clever & amusing one man act by Evan O’Television (who also happened to be the producer at the internship I had at Pulse Media) and a few other awesome groups that can be found on the poster under the cut.